We had the good fortune of connecting with Aida Dabreo and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Aida, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My mom taught me how to read prior to starting Pre-K. When I became a mom, I decided that I would teach my kids at home as well prior to them beginning school! When Chace was a newborn, I sang the alphabet to him daily and at bedtime as if it were a lullaby or nursery rhyme. Fast forward about ten months later, Chace started singing the alphabet on his own! Chace learned phonics A-Z by 16 months old and began reading flashcards at 18 months old. I also noticed that Chace loved “reading” books prior to him “knowing how to read”. He would open books, turn the pages and babble words as if he were truly telling a story! Most importantly, I noticed that Chace was literally a sponge! Chace would wake up singing the alphabet, sing it throughout the day, and sing it to himself at bedtime. His love for learning the alphabet and reading came from setting up daily routines of educational time with me. Since noticing Chace’s eagerness to learn and that my home methods of teaching were very effective, I decided that this method should be shared with the world. “Chasing My ABC’s”, by myself and Chace Collins, serves as a birthday gift and memorabilia to Chace for his love of the alphabet! Chace wrote “Chasing My ABC’s” at three years old and it was released via Audiobooks, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, as well as Barnes & Noble websites on August 29, 2022.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a registered nurse (R.N) for 15 years and Nurse Practitioner (N.P.) for 11 years. I am proud to work in the field of nursing as it has truly given me a sense of self fulfillment by helping to heal as well as save hundreds of people’s lives. I As a Nurse Practitioner I gained 5 years of experience in pain management and recently became licensed in psychiatry. I will be launching my own psychiatry practice very soon!
Becoming a R.N and NP was definitely not easy because the curriculums are challenging. I overcame my challenges by setting up daily routines, planning, and through determination to graduate. Once I became a mother and went back to graduate school I also relied on my village to help with my children so that I could accomplish my goal of becoming a mental health provider.
I have a very strong passion for helping people and I enjoy learning new things. I owe my passion for learning to my mother because she instilled core values in me as a toddler and pushed me throughout my childhood and adolescent years.
I want the world to know that as a parent, we can make learning simple, cool and fun for our children! I think it is important to begin teaching our children to enjoy learning as young as possible. I have been successful in teaching my children through play, singing, reading books, coloring, and repetition. I have done this with both of my children, Chace and Amira and it works! Chasing My ABC’s teaches letter recognition which is the first step in learning to spell and read. It also teaches phonics which is key because knowing the sound that each letter makes is essential to a child’s ability to break words down while learning to read. Children will learn 26 animals as well all through our multi sensory book Chasing My ABC’s. The audiobook can be helpful even when the hard copy is not in hand because parents can play it while their kids are eating, playing with toys, at bath time, and driving in the car. Think about it, even if your child is playing with toys in their room, they can still hear the audiobook being played and repetition helps children retain information!
Besides my son’s first children’s book, Chasing My ABCs, Chace will be launching a kids youtube channel this September. Chace’s YouTube channel will be a colorful and fun kids tv channel. Chace has a linktree in his bio via his instagram page @chace.theace where you will find the links to his youtube channel and his other social media platforms. Stay tuned as we are going to have cool, colorful, fun educational videos on his channel which will be branded as Chace The Ace TV.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
New York City has so many cool places to hangout. Of course there is Times Square, the Empire State building, and other landmarks that NYC is known for. I love rooftop restaurants such as STK. I love the food at ambiance at Tao restaurant. I love that NYC has almost any cultural restaurant that you can think of available such as Caribbean, Italian, African, Mediterranean, and Asian. I love the shopping districts such as Soho and 5th avenue. If you would like a more laid back vibe you can shop in Long Island where it is also much easier to park your vehicle. There are art studios for children, play gyms, many parks, a slime museum, FAO Schwartz, Lego Land and the list goes on!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To my village, Denise, Maggie, Patricia, Takeisha, and grandma Loun Loun (in heaven), thank you from the bottom of my heart. Chace and I could not have done this without your love, support, encouragement and prayers. I’d also like to thank my friend Shannon Butler and Dr. Sidjae Price. Shannon encouraged me and referred me to Priceless Publishing.
Website: www.chacetheace.com (coming soon)
Instagram: @Chace.theace
Facebook: Chace Collins
Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/ChacetheAce
Other: Facebook business page: Chace the Ace